May Done

It's hard to believe it's been another month. I'm tired, so very tired. Today, but in general as well.

It's late, so I'm going to make this quick.

The Big Elements

Simplify - I fell off the wagon a little bit, but I think I'm back on. Little nibbles are the way to go, keep tossing stuff, keep cleaning. A little at a time. Didn't have a summit with the family, but getting better with the calendar.

Diet/Exercise - not much this week, but overall, 39.05 miles completed this month. Got a nice email from RunKeeper noting that. Also been doing some Wii Fit each day. Still haven't reached my goal.

Work - It's been a good month. Holy cow crazy busy. But good. Not much to say.

Manipulation, Much? @GerberLife

Gotta love this mailing from Gerber Life Insurance Company.

Photo of a baby with a thought cloud that wonders "You love me, right?" The cute little guy has been forced into child labor to guilt grandparents* who don't remember what their grandchildren look like to "Do something today to show your love now... and for years to come."

*This was addressed to my dad but delivered to my post office box.  They must have the same low-rent data source that General Motors uses.

#EEC13 @VerizonWireless (A Work-Related Post)

Note: I attended the Email Evolution conference in early February but have been so swamped since my return that I've had trouble getting back to my notes and turning them into useful information to share with my organization and the world.

John Edwards (LinkedIn)
Director, Digital CRM,
Verizon Wireless

Wacarra Yeomans (LinkedIn)
Director, Creative Services, Responsys

Presentation Slides (PDF)

Mobile First

In general, people give each email:

• 3-5 second skim - desktop
• 1-2 second skim - mobile

So... what does "optimize for mobile" really mean? 

Take someone with a gmail account using an iPhone:

1. Native email client
2. Gmail client
3. gmail.com on safari
4. gmail.com on chrome
   ...etc... (now add yahoo, hotmail/outlook.com, aol, corporate email, etc., etc., etc.)

Slow Kills

Slow load times will reduce customer activity for up to 5 months (Google). Are you chasing away customers with a bad mobile experience?

So... now what?

Free TV ad for Dreyer's

I was sneaking a spoonful or two of ice cream the other night and noticed the heart on the top of the container.  I immediately wondered what it was there for.  And within seconds, a television commercial had taken shape in my mind.

Scene: Grocery Store, a tall cabinet filled with ice cream.  A teenaged girl is looking over the flavors and tentatively pulls out a carton of Dreyer's.  A guy with perfectly coifed hair and dazzling teeth, holding a large microphone walks into frame followed by a guy with a camera on his shoulder and another guy with headphones and a large boom mic.

Talent: "Hi there."
Teenager: "Uh, hi." (looking around, looking at the reporter and back at the ice cream as if it's going to explode)
Talent: "I see you've got some Dreyer's Ice Cream there."
Teenager: "Yup." (looking puzzled)
Talent:" Well, we just wanted to thank you and tell you we love you."
Teenager (to woman down the aisle): "Mom, this guy says he loves us and wants to thank us for buying ice cream."
Woman: "What?" (striding purposefully toward the camera crew) "Do I need to be calling security? What are you saying?"
Talent: (begins stammering and lowers microphone)

Cut to a man looking at ice cream.  He grabs a different brand, then puts it back and reaches for a Dryer.  As soon as his hand touches it, Talent leaps to his side, perfect white teeth sparkling.

It's only a flesh wound.

This seems like a bold claim for Band-Aid brand bandages to be making.  You've just cut yourself and are looking for something to stem the tide of the vital fluid leaking from a hole that shouldn't be there. And Band-Aid says "Hey, no worries, dude. You're going to be just fine." They've put a TM next to it. Something tells me the legal department makes no such claims.

Get Them Talking (A Work-Related Post)

My colleague saw this recently on the way to work, thought it was so funny that he told us about it.  I immediately thought "I must see this for myself." and asked him if he'd take a photo for me.

But, let's be honest - this is pretty brilliant.  We give them extra credit because they aren't a chain so this comes across more funny than calculated. And yet it resonates because it's relevant.

There's probably very few people that don't feel some kind of guilt about stuff they should have thrown away but haven't, closets in their house they haven't visited in quite some time.  And who hasn't seem promos for the TV show Hoarders?

At the same time, "Buy More Stuff" makes us laugh nervously. Because, of course they will say that. And because of course, we will.

Is your messaging memorable?

Week 8 (Saturday)

Week-at-a-Glance (May 20-26)

Weight: 153.7 as of 05/22 (8.7 to go) [Goal for Friday - 152.5 or less]

Exercise (week): Walk: 4 (6.0 miles) [goal: 12 miles]
Jumping Jacks: 550 [goal: 350] // Situps: 220 [goal: 150] // Pushups: 220 [goal: 150]

Remember the Milk: 25 repeating + M 23; T 18; W 15; R 10; F 8; A 46; S 61 (175r+181nr)

Sunday, May 26 - 11:13 pm - It was not a good day.  There were lots of good elements, but I did not do well today.  I have some ideas of what I should have done differently, it's just now the problem of catching it sooner and making correction.  As far as this process is concerned, it was a good week.  I left a lot on the table but I am smarter about what is possible in a week - like the weekends - I should expect to get less done, not more.  But overall, I should expect to get less done.  That I got as much done as I did was the result of a lot of simpler tasks being repeated.  I'm unsure about calories.
Lose-It: 1,658 calories available; ? consumed; ? earned exercise; ? remaining.

Email: 31 (Inbox: 1; Mailbox: 30) // Feedly: zero! // TED Talks: 11

Remember the Milk: 57 completed 

Remember the Milk this week: 393 completed
Reading since last night: 20 minutes book, 0 minutes magazine
Bed last night: 11:40 pm